Joscelin I of Edessa

Joscelin of Courtenay (died 1131) was a Frankish knight and the regent of Edessa from 1119 until 1131, when he died. He was known to be a great general and an ally of Baldwin II of Edessa.

Biography
Joscelin of Courtenay was from France, and inherited the title of Duke of Courtenay from his father Joscelin I, and was the maternal grandson of Guy I of Montlhery. He was a member of the House of Hauteville, and arrived in Frankish Outremer in 1101 during the Defense of the Crusader States, where he aided Baldwin II of Edessa, a fellow Hauteville relative, in defending his land from Kilij Arslan I's Danishmends. He became regent of Antioch at some points, and was held captive of Balak of Aleppo in 1123, but commanded a combined force from all four Latin principalities in the same year in an attempt to free King Baldwin, who had suffered a similar fate shortly after the count. Until the king's release in 1124, Joscelin cut the leading secular figure in Outremer. Thereafter he continued to play a prominent role, joining with Baldwin II in attacking Aleppo in 1124-5 and Damascus in 1129. This did not prevent him from asserting his rights against fellow Christians by force, if necessary, or, as in 1127 during a dispute with the new prince of Antioch, Bohemund II, with the assistance of The Turks. The story of Joscelin's death in 1131 provided Outremer with one of its epic tales. Infuriated by his son's cowardice in the face of an attack from Anatolia, Joscelin, seriously ill and bedridden, insisted on leadinh out his troops borne on a litter. Seeing this, the invaders hurriedly withdrew. On recieving the news, Joscelin, ordering his litter to be put down on the road, died giving thanks to God.